Bay Street Likely To Open On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - It's likely to be a somewhat subdued start for the Canadian market Thursday morning with investors tracking crude oil and metal prices. Concerns about the outlook for interest rates may weigh and limit market's upside.

In company news, Lithium Americas (LAC.TO) said Wednesday that it would raise US$275 million by selling 55 million common shares at US$5 apiece in an underwritten public offering expected to close on April 22. The company plans to use the proceeds to advance the construction and development of its Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada.

On Wednesday, Canadian stocks moved mostly higher in early trading but gave back ground over the course of the session.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index pulled back well off its early highs and settled up 13.18 points or 0.1% at 21,656.05.

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Thursday, as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields retreated from recent highs and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., the world's largest producer of advanced processors, clocked a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit on strong AI chip demand.

European stocks are modestly higher soft eurozone inflation data for March boosted hopes for an ECB rate cut in June.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.59 or 0.71% at $82.10 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $8.50 or 0.36% at $2,396.90 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.150 or 0.53% at $28.550 an ounce.